The Global Alliance of Waste Pickers is a networking process supported by WIEGO, among thousands of waste picker organizations with groups in more than 28 countries covering mainly Latin America, Asia and Africa.

January 20, 2014

The 6th Latin American Assembly of Waste Pickers was held in São Paulo, on December 17 and 18th of 2013. Reunited in solidarity with our brothers and sister “recyclers” and 33 delegates from 15 countries and members of Red Lacre, we have had the opportunity to come together to dialogue, debate, and share experiences. We, recyclers of Latin America and the Caribbean commit ourselves to the struggle for the organization of catadores, pepenadores, cirujas, churequeros, clasificadores, minadores, cartoneros, recolectores y buzos. Waste pickers by trade are those that work in the collection, recovery, transport, separation, pre-transformation and commercialization of recyclable and reusable materials. We depend on this work for our daily bread and we don’t exploit anybody. In other words, we put our hands in the trash to feed ourselves and our families. We perform the activity of social and popular recycling as our main income and profession.Read the complete Declaration (in Spanish)